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Faltýnková A, Jouet D, Nielsen ÓK, Skírnisson K. First species record of Strigea falconis Szidat, 1928 (Trematoda, Strigeidae) from gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus in Iceland-pros and cons of a complex life cycle. Parasitol Res 2024; 123:147. [PMID: 38433153 PMCID: PMC10909778 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-024-08161-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Strigea falconis is a common parasite of birds of prey and owls widely distributed in the Holarctic. We aimed to characterise S. falconis from Iceland via integrative taxonomic approach and to contribute to the understanding of its circulation in the Holarctic. We recovered adult S. falconis from two gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus) collected in 2011 and 2012 in Iceland (Reykjanes Peninsula, Westfjords) and characterised them by morphological and molecular genetic (D2 of rDNA, cox1, ND1 of the mDNA) methods. We provide the first species record of S. falconis in Iceland which to the best of our knowledge is its northernmost distributional range. The presence of S. falconis in Iceland is surprising, as there are no suitable intermediate hosts allowing completion of its life cycle. Gyrfalcons are fully sedentary in Iceland; thus, the only plausible explanation is that they acquired their infection by preying upon migratory birds arriving from Europe. Our data indicate that the most likely candidates are Anseriformes and Charadriiformes. Also, we corroborate the wide geographical distribution of S. falconis, as we found a high degree of similarity between our haplotypes and sequences of mesocercariae from frogs in France and of a metacercaria from Turdus naumanni in Japan, and adults from Buteo buteo and Circus aeruginosus from the Czech Republic. The case of Strigea falconis shows the advantages of a complex life cycle and also depicts its pitfalls when a parasite is introduced to a new area with no suitable intermediate hosts. In Iceland, gyrfalcons are apparently dead-end hosts for S. falconis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Faltýnková
- Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, Brno, 613 00, Czech Republic.
| | - Damien Jouet
- ESCAPE UR7510, USC ANSES PETARD, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 51 Rue Cognacq-Jay, 51096, Reims Cedex, France
| | | | - Karl Skírnisson
- Laboratory of Parasitology, Institute for Experimental Pathology, Keldur, University of Iceland, IS-112, Reykjavík, Iceland
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2
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Blewett TA, Ackerly KL, Schlenker LS, Martin S, Nielsen KM. Implications of biotic factors for toxicity testing in laboratory studies. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 908:168220. [PMID: 37924878 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
There is an emerging call from scientists globally to advance the environmental relevance of laboratory studies, particularly within the field of ecotoxicology. To answer this call, we must carefully examine and elucidate the shortcomings of standardized toxicity testing methods that are used in the derivation of toxicity values and regulatory criteria. As a consequence of rapidly accelerating climate change, the inclusion of abiotic co-stressors are increasingly being incorporated into toxicity studies, with the goal of improving the representativeness of laboratory-derived toxicity values used in ecological risk assessments. However, much less attention has been paid to the influence of biotic factors that may just as meaningfully impact our capacity to evaluate and predict risks within impacted ecosystems. Therefore, the overarching goal is to highlight key biotic factors that should be taken into consideration during the experimental design and model selection phase. SYNOPSIS: Scientists are increasingly finding that lab reared results in toxicology might not be reflective of the external wild environment, we highlight in this review some key considerations when working between the lab and field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamzin A Blewett
- University of Alberta, Department of Biological Sciences, Canada.
| | - Kerri Lynn Ackerly
- The University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute, United States of America
| | - Lela S Schlenker
- East Carolina University, Department of Biology, United States of America
| | - Sidney Martin
- University of Alberta, Department of Biological Sciences, Canada
| | - Kristin M Nielsen
- The University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute, United States of America
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3
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Brabec J, Salomaki ED, Kolísko M, Scholz T, Kuchta R. The evolution of endoparasitism and complex life cycles in parasitic platyhelminths. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4269-4275.e3. [PMID: 37729914 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
Within flatworms, the vast majority of parasitism is innate to Neodermata, the most derived and diversified group of the phylum Platyhelminthes.1,2 The four major lineages of Neodermata maintain various combinations of life strategies.3 They include both externally (ecto-) and internally feeding (endo-) parasites. Some lineages complete their life cycles directly by infecting a single host, whereas others succeed only through serial infections of multiple hosts of various vertebrate and invertebrate groups. Food sources and modes of digestion add further combinatorial layers to the often incompletely understood mosaic of neodermatan life histories. Their evolutionary trajectories have remained molecularly unresolved because of conflicting evolutionary inferences and a lack of genomic data.4 Here, we generated transcriptomes for nine early branching neodermatan representatives and performed detailed phylogenomic analyses to address these critical gaps. Polyopisthocotylea, mostly hematophagous ectoparasites, form a group with the mostly hematophagous but endoparasitic trematodes (Trematoda), rather than sharing a common ancestor with Monopisthocotylea, ectoparasitic epithelial feeders. Phylogenetic placement of the highly specialized endoparasitic Cestoda alters depending on the model. Regardless of this uncertainty, this study brings an unconventional perspective on the evolution of platyhelminth parasitism, rejecting a common origin for the endoparasitic lifestyle intrinsic to cestodes and trematodes. Instead, our data indicate that complex life cycles and invasion of vertebrates' gut lumen, the hallmark features of these parasites, evolved independently within Neodermata. We propose the demise of the traditionally recognized class Monogenea and the promotion of its two subclasses to the class level as Monopisthocotyla new class and Polyopisthocotyla new class.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Brabec
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice 37005, Czech Republic.
| | - Eric D Salomaki
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice 37005, Czech Republic; Center for Computational Biology of Human Disease and Center for Computation and Visualization, Brown University, 180 George St, Providence, RI 02906, USA
| | - Martin Kolísko
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Scholz
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Kuchta
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice 37005, Czech Republic
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4
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Moore CS, Baillie CJ, Edmonds EA, Gittman RK, Blakeslee AMH. Parasites indicate trophic complexity and faunal succession in restored oyster reefs over a 22-year period. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 33:e2825. [PMID: 36843150 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Foundation species like the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) create complex habitats for organisms across multiple trophic levels. Historic declines in oyster abundance have prompted decades of restoration efforts. However, it remains unclear how long it takes for restored reefs to resemble the trophic complexity of natural reefs. We used a space-for-time approach to examine community succession of restored reefs ranging in age from 3 to 22 years old in coastal North Carolina, surveying both free-living taxa and parasite communities and comparing them to natural reefs that are decades old. Trophically transmitted parasites can serve as valuable biodiversity surrogates, sometimes providing greater information about a system or question than their free-living counterparts. We found that the diversity of free-living taxa was highly variable and did not differ among new (<10 years), old (20 years), and natural reefs. Conversely, parasite diversity increased with elapsed time after restoration, and parasite communities in older restored reefs resembled those found in natural reefs. Our study also revealed that oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau) act as a key host species capable of facilitating parasite transmission and trophic ascent in oyster reef food webs. Overall, our results suggest that trophic complexity in restored oyster reefs requires at least 8 years to resemble that found in natural reefs. This work adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating how parasites can serve as biodiversity surrogates, proxies for the presence of additional taxa that are often difficult or impractical to sample. Given the multiplicity of links formed with their hosts, parasites offer a powerful tool for quantifying diversity and trophic complexity in environmental monitoring studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher S Moore
- Biology Department, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
| | | | - Emily A Edmonds
- Biology Department, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
| | - Rachel K Gittman
- Biology Department, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
- Coastal Studies Institute, East Carolina University, Wanchese, North Carolina, USA
| | - April M H Blakeslee
- Biology Department, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
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5
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Izquierdo-Rodriguez E, Anettová L, Hrazdilová K, Foronda P, Modrý D. Range of metastrongylids (superfamily Metastrongyloidea) of public health and veterinary concern present in livers of the endemic lizard Gallotia galloti of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Parasit Vectors 2023; 16:81. [PMID: 36890511 PMCID: PMC9997015 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-023-05653-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Endemic lizards of the genus Gallotia are of high ecological value to the terrestrial ecosystem of the archipelago of the Canary Islands, being potent seed spreaders as well as an important component of the diet of other vertebrates. The endemic lizard Gallotia galloti in Tenerife has recently been reported to be a paratenic host of Angiostrongylus cantonensis, an invasive metastrongylid with zoonotic potential that is associated with rats as definitive hosts. However, microscopic examination of G. galloti tissue samples also revealed the presence of other metastrongylid larvae inside granulomas on the liver of this reptile. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of helminths other than A. cantonensis in tissues of G. galloti from Tenerife. METHODS A multiplex-nested PCR targeting the internal transcribed spacer 1 was designed that enabled the species-specific detection of A. cantonensis, Angiostrongylus vasorum, Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, Crenosoma striatum and Crenosoma vulpis. Liver samples from 39 G. galloti were analysed. RESULTS Five metastrongylids were detected: A. cantonensis (15.4% of samples analysed), A. vasorum (5.1%), Ae. abstrusus (30.8%), C. striatum (30.8%) and undetermined metastrongylid sequences (12.8%). Co-infection was highly prevalent among the lizards which tested positive. CONCLUSIONS The study provides a new specific tool for the simultaneous detection of a range of metastrongylids of veterinary importance as well as new data on the circulation of metastrongylids in an ecosystem dominated by lizards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Izquierdo-Rodriguez
- Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.,Departamento de Obstetricia y Ginecología, Pediatría, Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Toxicología, Medicina Legal y Forense y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de La Lagunas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Lucia Anettová
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Kristýna Hrazdilová
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1665/1, Brno, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Biomedical Center, Charles University, Alej Svobody 1655/76, Plzeň, Czech Republic
| | - Pilar Foronda
- Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. .,Departamento de Obstetricia y Ginecología, Pediatría, Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Toxicología, Medicina Legal y Forense y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de La Lagunas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.
| | - David Modrý
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.,Institute of Parasitology, Biology Center of Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources (CINeZ), Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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6
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Molbert N, Goutte A. Narrower isotopic niche size in fish infected by the intestinal parasite Pomphorhynchus sp. compared to uninfected ones. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2022; 101:1466-1473. [PMID: 36097411 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Examples of parasite-related effects on intermediate crustacean hosts are numerous but their ecological consequences on their vertebrate hosts are scarce. Here, we address the role of macroparasite infections on the trophic niche structure of definitive hosts and its potential physiological consequences using wild fish populations infected with an acantochephalan parasite Pomphorhynchus sp., a trophically transmitted intestinal worm. Infected and uninfected fish were sampled from six populations on the Marne River, France and the prevalence of intestinal parasites in the host populations ranged from 50% to 90%. Although the isotopic ratios (δ13 C and δ15 N) did not differ between infected and uninfected fish, we found a consistent pattern of isotopic niche size being considerably smaller in infected hosts when compared with noninfected ones. This was not explained by interindividual differences in intrinsic factors such as length/age or body condition between infected and uninfected fish. These results suggest a potential niche specialization of infected fish, which did not impair their energetic status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noëlie Molbert
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), EPHE, UMR METIS, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Aurélie Goutte
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), EPHE, UMR METIS, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
- École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL Research University, Paris, France
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7
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Guitard J, Chrétien E, Bonville JD, Roche DG, Boisclair D, Binning SA. Increased parasite load is associated with reduced metabolic rates and escape responsiveness in pumpkinseed sunfish. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:276167. [PMID: 35818812 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Wild animals have parasites that can compromise their physiological and/or behavioural performance. Yet, the extent to which parasite load is related to intraspecific variation in performance traits within wild populations remains relatively unexplored. We used pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) and their endoparasites as a model system to explore the effects of infection load on host aerobic metabolism and escape performance. Metabolic traits (standard and maximum metabolic rates, aerobic scope) and fast-start escape responses following a simulated aerial attack by a predator (responsiveness, response latency, and escape distance) were measured in fish from across a gradient of visible (i.e. trematodes causing black spot disease counted on fish surfaces) and non-visible (i.e. cestodes in fish abdominal cavity counted post-mortem) endoparasite infection. We found that a higher infection load of non-visible endoparasites was related to lower standard and maximum metabolic rates, but not aerobic scope in fish. Non-visible endoparasite infection load was also related to decreased responsiveness of the host to a simulated aerial attack. Visible endoparasites were not related to changes in metabolic traits nor fast-start escape responses. Our results suggest that infection with parasites that are inconspicuous to researchers can result in intraspecific variation in physiological and behavioral performance in wild populations, highlighting the need to more explicitly acknowledge and account for the role played by natural infections in studies of wild animal performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joëlle Guitard
- Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie et en environnement aquatique (GRIL), Département de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, 1375 Av. Thérèse- Lavoie-Roux, Montréal, Québec, H2V 0B3, Canada.,Institut des sciences de la mer (ISMER), Université de Québec à Rimouski, 310 avenue des Ursulines, Rimouski, Québec, G5L 2Z9, Canada
| | - Emmanuelle Chrétien
- Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie et en environnement aquatique (GRIL), Département de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, 1375 Av. Thérèse- Lavoie-Roux, Montréal, Québec, H2V 0B3, Canada.,Centre eau, terre et environnement, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Québec, Québec, G1K 9A9, Canada
| | - Jérémy De Bonville
- Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie et en environnement aquatique (GRIL), Département de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, 1375 Av. Thérèse- Lavoie-Roux, Montréal, Québec, H2V 0B3, Canada
| | - Dominique G Roche
- Institut de biologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel Boisclair
- Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie et en environnement aquatique (GRIL), Département de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, 1375 Av. Thérèse- Lavoie-Roux, Montréal, Québec, H2V 0B3, Canada
| | - Sandra A Binning
- Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie et en environnement aquatique (GRIL), Département de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, 1375 Av. Thérèse- Lavoie-Roux, Montréal, Québec, H2V 0B3, Canada
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8
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The Influence of Contracaecum larvae (Nematoda, Anisakidae) Parasitism on the Population of Prussian carp ( Carassius gibelio) in Lake Sakadaš, Croatia. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11050600. [PMID: 35631121 PMCID: PMC9146907 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11050600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Contracaecum larvae are geographically widely distributed, utilizing many animal species as hosts; and fish represent an important paratenic host in their life cycle. Their presence in Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio) was studied in Lake Sakadaš (Croatia) in 2017 and 2018. Two gill nets of different sizes submerged during a 12-h period were used to collect the fish. Contracaecum larvae were recorded in the stomach, slightly coiled or elongated on the intestine serosa or encapsulated in a gut wall of 20 individuals. The effect of Contracaecum sp. on the health of their host was determined by estimating the effect of the parasites’ presence, number, and biomass on fish length, weight, and the Fulton’s condition factor (CF). Infected fish showed negative (b < 3; p < 0.05) and uninfected fish positive allometric growth (b > 3; p < 0.05). Fish weight and CF in infected individuals were significantly low in comparison to the uninfected ones (Mann−Whitney U test: U = 1078.00, U = 423.50, respectively; p < 0.004). These results emphasize the importance of evaluating parasitic nematode presence in economically important fish species. Even more, if this endoparasite has a detectable negative impact on a resilient species such as the Prussian carp, it is important to monitor its occurrence in other fish species.
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9
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Richardson EL, White CR, Marshall DJ. A comparative analysis testing Werner's theory of complex life cycles. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emily L. Richardson
- Centre for Geometric Biology/School of Biological Sciences Monash University Melbourne Victoria Australia
| | - Craig R. White
- Centre for Geometric Biology/School of Biological Sciences Monash University Melbourne Victoria Australia
| | - Dustin J. Marshall
- Centre for Geometric Biology/School of Biological Sciences Monash University Melbourne Victoria Australia
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10
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Kreiss T, Eck T, Hart B, Tummalapalli S, Rotella D, Siekierka J. A novel series of putative Brugia malayi histone demethylase inhibitors as potential anti-filarial drugs. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010216. [PMID: 35294431 PMCID: PMC8926182 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Filariasis, caused by a family of parasitic nematodes, affects millions of individuals throughout the tropics and is a major cause of acute and chronic morbidity. Current drugs are largely used in mass drug administration programs aimed at controlling the spread of disease by killing microfilariae, larval forms of the parasite responsible for transmission from humans to humans through insect vectors with limited efficacy against adult parasites. Although these drugs are effective, in some cases there are toxic liabilities. In case of loiasis which is caused by the parasitic eyeworm Loa loa, mass drug administration is contraindicative due to severe side effects of microfilariae killing, which can be life threatening. Our screening program and medicinal chemistry efforts have led to the identification of a novel series of compounds with potent killing activity against adult filarial parasites and minimal activity against microfilariae. A structural comparison search of our compounds demonstrated a close structural similarity to a recently described histone demethylase inhibitor, GSKJ1/4 which also exhibits selective adult parasite killing. We demonstrated a modification of histone methylation in Brugia malayi parasites treated with our compounds which might indicate that the mode of drug action is at the level of histone methylation. Our results indicate that targeting B. malayi and other filarial parasite demethylases may offer a novel approach for the development of a new class of macrofilaricidal therapeutics. Parasitic diseases are responsible for tremendous suffering and morbidly throughout the world. There is a need for new drugs to treat parasitic disease. New approaches aimed at treating parasitic diseases depend upon an understanding of the critical functions required for parasite survival. One such disease is lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), a devastating parasitic disease initiated by the bite of a mosquito carrying infectious larvae. The larvae develop into adult parasites which sequester themselves in host lymphatics where they survive for several years. We have identified a novel series of compounds which appears to affect filarial parasite epigenetic regulatory mechanisms compromising parasite survival. These compounds provide both a pharmacological probe for the study of filarial parasite epigenetic mechanisms important for survival as well as providing a potential opportunity for anti-filarial drug development. In addition, these mechanisms are present in a variety of parasitic nematodes offering the opportunity for development of treatments for a wide variety of parasitic nematodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Kreiss
- Montclair State University and the Sokol Institute of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Montclair, New Jersey, United States of America
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Tyler Eck
- Montclair State University and the Sokol Institute of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Montclair, New Jersey, United States of America
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Brittany Hart
- Montclair State University and the Sokol Institute of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Montclair, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Sreedhar Tummalapalli
- Montclair State University and the Sokol Institute of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Montclair, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - David Rotella
- Montclair State University and the Sokol Institute of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Montclair, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - John Siekierka
- Montclair State University and the Sokol Institute of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Montclair, New Jersey, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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11
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Tsuchida K, Rauque C, Viozzi G, Flores V, Urabe M. First report of post-cyclic transmission in trematodes: Derogenes lacustris (Digenea: Hemiuroidea) in Patagonian freshwater fishes. Parasitology 2022; 149:234-238. [PMID: 35234596 PMCID: PMC11010469 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182021001736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The transmission of adult parasites from prey to predatory hosts has been demonstrated for some acanthocephalan and one cestode species. Derogenes lacustris (Digenea: Hemiuroidea: Derogenidae) is a generalist parasite that infects, as an adult, the stomach of native and introduced freshwater fishes in Andean Patagonia. In the present work, the post-cyclic transmission of D. lacustris from native Galaxias maculatus (Galaxiidae) to introduced Oncorhynchus mykiss (Salmonidae) was proved experimentally. The observed transmission rate for this experimental infection was 19%. The body length of D. lacustris on day 14 post-infection was significantly greater than before transmission. The number of eggs also increased significantly after transmission, showing that D. lacustris can survive, grow and continue with egg production for at least 2 weeks in predatory salmonids. This study provides the first experimental evidence of post-cyclic transmission of trematodes and the results suggest that post-cyclic parasitism enables this species to broaden its range of hosts and distribution ranges in Argentinean Patagonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Tsuchida
- Division of Environmental Dynamics, Graduate School of Environmental Sciences, The University of Shiga Prefecture, Hassaka, Hikone, Shiga522-8533, Japan
| | - Carlos Rauque
- Laboratorio de Parasitología, INIBIOMA (CONICET-Univ. Nac. del Comahue), Quintral 1250, (8400) San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Gustavo Viozzi
- Laboratorio de Parasitología, INIBIOMA (CONICET-Univ. Nac. del Comahue), Quintral 1250, (8400) San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Verónica Flores
- Laboratorio de Parasitología, INIBIOMA (CONICET-Univ. Nac. del Comahue), Quintral 1250, (8400) San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Misako Urabe
- Department of Ecosystem Studies, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, The University of Shiga Prefecture, 2500 Hassaka, Hikone, Shiga522-8533, Japan
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12
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Majewska AA, Huang T, Han B, Drake JM. Predictors of zoonotic potential in helminths. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200356. [PMID: 34538139 PMCID: PMC8450625 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Helminths are parasites that cause disease at considerable cost to public health and present a risk for emergence as novel human infections. Although recent research has elucidated characteristics conferring a propensity to emergence in other parasite groups (e.g. viruses), the understanding of factors associated with zoonotic potential in helminths remains poor. We applied an investigator-directed learning algorithm to a global dataset of mammal helminth traits to identify factors contributing to spillover of helminths from wild animal hosts into humans. We characterized parasite traits that distinguish between zoonotic and non-zoonotic species with 91% accuracy. Results suggest that helminth traits relating to transmission (e.g. definitive and intermediate hosts) and geography (e.g. distribution) are more important to discriminating zoonotic from non-zoonotic species than morphological or epidemiological traits. Whether or not a helminth causes infection in companion animals (cats and dogs) is the most important predictor of propensity to cause human infection. Finally, we identified helminth species with high modelled propensity to cause zoonosis (over 70%) that have not previously been considered to be of risk. This work highlights the importance of prioritizing studies on the transmission of helminths that infect pets and points to the risks incurred by close associations with these animals. This article is part of the theme issue 'Infectious disease macroecology: parasite diversity and dynamics across the globe'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ania A Majewska
- Odum School of Ecology and the Center for Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Biology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Tao Huang
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA.,Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA
| | - Barbara Han
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA
| | - John M Drake
- Odum School of Ecology and the Center for Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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Massolo A, Gerber A, Umhang G, Nicholas C, Liccioli S, Mori K, Klein C. Droplet digital PCR as a sensitive tool to assess exposure pressure from Echinococcus multilocularis in intermediate hosts. Acta Trop 2021; 223:106078. [PMID: 34363776 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
A key element to understanding parasite epidemiology is assessing their prevalence in the respective wild reservoir hosts. The tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis circulates between canid species (definite hosts) and small mammals (mostly rodents; intermediate hosts). Prevalence rates of Echinococcus multilocularis in the intermediate host are most exclusively determined through macroscopic examination of the liver generally followed by molecular or histological diagnostic for parasite species confirmation. The overall objective of the study was to investigate the suitability of Real-Time PCR and Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) analysis as tool to detect exposure pressure (frequency of infection events) from E. multilocularis in intermediate hosts even in the absence of macroscopic lesions in the liver. One hundred six small mammals (meadow voles and deer mice) were trapped followed by post-mortem examination including macroscopic evaluation of the liver to detect lesions indicative of infection with Echinococcus multilocularis but also by sampling a piece of liver in absence of lesion to submit it to molecular assay. Macroscopic lesions were present in the livers of two samples. Including the latter two samples, five samples yielded a positive result following Real-Time PCR, whereas 16 samples displayed three or more positive droplets upon ddPCR and were considered positive. Whether these additional cases without macroscopic lesions would have become infectious during the lifespan of the rodent or were abortive or early infections is unclear, but these data suggest levels of exposure of intermediate hosts to the parasite is much higher than assumed.
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Warburton EM, Blanar CA. Life in the margins: host-parasite relationships in ecological edges. Parasitol Res 2021; 120:3965-3977. [PMID: 34694518 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-021-07355-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Transitional zones, such as edge habitat, are key landscapes for investigating biodiversity. "Soft edges" are permeable corridors that hosts can cross, while "hard edges" are impermeable borders that hosts cannot pass. Although pathogen transmission in the context of edges is vital to species conservation, drivers of host-parasite relationships in ecological edges remain poorly understood. Thus, we defined a framework for testing hypotheses of host-parasite interactions in hard and soft edges by (1) characterizing hard and soft edges from both the host and parasite perspectives, (2) predicting the types of parasites that would be successful in each type of edge, and (3) applying our framework to species invasion fronts as an example of host-parasite relationships in a soft edge. Generally, we posited that parasites in soft edges are more likely to be negatively affected by habitat fragmentation than their hosts because they occupy higher trophic levels but parasite transmission would benefit from increased host connectivity. Parasites along hard edges, however, are at higher risk of local extinction due to host population perturbations with limited opportunity for parasite recolonization. We then used these characteristics to predict functional traits that would lead to parasite success along soft and hard edges. Finally, we applied our framework to invasive species fronts to highlight predictions regarding host connectivity and parasite traits in soft edges. We anticipate that our work will promote a more complete discussion of habitat connectivity using a common framework and stimulate empirical research into host-parasite relationships within ecological edges and transitional zones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M Warburton
- Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30606, USA.
| | - Christopher A Blanar
- Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Davie, FL, 33314, USA
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15
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Abstract
Many microorganisms with high prevalence in host populations are beneficial to the host and maintained by specialized transmission mechanisms. Although microbial promotion of host fitness and specificity of the associations undoubtedly enhance microbial prevalence, it is an open question whether these symbiotic traits are also a prerequisite for the evolutionary origin of prevalent microbial taxa. To address this issue, we investigate how processes without positive microbial effects on host fitness or host choice can influence the prevalence of certain microbes in a host population. Specifically, we develop a theoretical model to assess the conditions under which particular microbes can become enriched in animal hosts even when they are not providing a specific benefit to a particular host. We find increased prevalence of specific microbes in a host when both show some overlap in their lifecycles, and especially when both share dispersal routes across a patchy habitat distribution. Our results emphasize that host enrichment per se is not a reliable indicator of beneficial host-microbe interactions. The resulting increase in time spent associated with a host may nevertheless give rise to new selection conditions, which can favor microbial adaptations toward a host-associated lifestyle, and, thus, it could be the foundation for subsequent evolution of mutually beneficial coevolved symbioses.
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16
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Rodríguez SM, George-Nascimento M. GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION OF ENTEROPARASITISM IN THE SOUTHERN SEA LION OTARIA FLAVESCENS (SHAW, 1800) OFF THE COAST OF CHILE AS EVIDENCED WITH COPROLOGICAL TESTS: IMPLICATONS FOR ZOONOTIC RISKS. J Parasitol 2021; 107:547-553. [PMID: 34270759 DOI: 10.1645/20-155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The scarce information on the helminth fauna in otariids from the Southeastern Pacific comes mainly from stranded individuals or killed for that purpose. In this study, we compared the abundance and composition of enteroparasitic assemblages of Otaria flavescens using coprological techniques. Three sampling localities from north to south spanning 2,200 km off the Chilean coast were considered (Iquique, Viña del Mar, and Talcahuano). In all, 60 fecal samples were collected, and eggs belonging to 5 taxa were found in 91.6% of the samples. They were the anisakid nematodes Contracaecum and Pseudoterranova, the cestode Adenocephalus (syn. Diphyllobothrium), the trematode Ogmogaster, and the acanthocephalan Corynosoma. Samples from southern Chile (Talcahuano) showed the highest prevalence. Adenocephalus eggs had the highest prevalence and abundance in Iquique and Talcahuano, whereas Ogmogaster was the less prevalent and abundant in all sampling localities. Corynosoma eggs had similar prevalence and abundance among sampling localities, and Pseudoterranova eggs were absent in Iquique and with median prevalence values in Viña del Mar and Talcahuano. Thus, the composition of parasite egg assemblages was different between sampling localities. These differences between sampling localities may help to explain differential records of some zoonotic parasitoses such as pseudoterranovosis and diphyllobothriosis in Peru and Chile, where consumption of raw or marinated fish (ceviche) is common. For example, the lower diversity of parasite egg assemblages in the northern Chilean coast may be due to the absence or lower abundance of first intermediate/paratenic hosts of Pseudoterranova.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara M Rodríguez
- Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Isla Teja s/n, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Mario George-Nascimento
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción P.O. Box 297, Concepción, Chile.,Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ambientes Sustentables (CIBAS), Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile
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17
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Benesh DP, Parker G, Chubb JC. Life-cycle complexity in helminths: What are the benefits? Evolution 2021; 75:1936-1952. [PMID: 34184269 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Parasitic worms (i.e., helminths) commonly infect multiple hosts in succession. With every transmission step, they risk not infecting the next host and thus dying before reproducing. Given this risk, what are the benefits of complex life cycles? Using a dataset for 973 species of trophically transmitted acanthocephalans, cestodes, and nematodes, we tested whether hosts at the start of a life cycle increase transmission and whether hosts at the end of a life cycle enable growth to larger, more fecund sizes. Helminths with longer life cycles, that is, more successive hosts, infected conspicuously smaller first hosts, slightly larger final hosts, and exploited trophic links with lower predator-prey mass ratios. Smaller first hosts likely facilitate transmission because of their higher abundance and because parasite propagules were the size of their normal food. Bigger definitive hosts likely increase fecundity because parasites grew larger in big hosts, particularly endotherms. Helminths with long life cycles attained larger adult sizes through later maturation, not faster growth. Our results indicate that complex helminth life cycles are ubiquitous because growth and reproduction are highest in large, endothermic hosts that are typically only accessible via small intermediate hosts, that is, the best hosts for growth and transmission are not the same.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P Benesh
- Molecular Parasitology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.,Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Geoff Parker
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - James C Chubb
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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Alternative transmission pathways for guinea worm in dogs: implications for outbreak risk and control. Int J Parasitol 2021; 51:1027-1034. [PMID: 34246634 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2021.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) has exerted a high human health burden in parts of Africa. Complete eradication of Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis) may be delayed by the circulation of the parasite in domestic dogs. As with humans, dogs acquire the parasite by directly ingesting infected copepods, and recent evidence suggests that consuming frogs that ingested infected copepods as tadpoles may be a viable transmission route (paratenic route). To understand the relative contributions of direct and paratenic transmission routes, we developed a mathematical model that describes transmission of Guinea worm between dogs, copepods and frogs. We explored how the parasite basic reproductive number (R0) depends on parameters amenable to actionable interventions under three scenarios: frogs/tadpoles do not consume copepods; tadpoles consume copepods but frogs do not contribute to transmission; and frogs are paratenic hosts. We found a non-monotonic relationship between the number of dogs and R0. Generally, frogs can contribute to disease control by removing infected copepods from the waterbody even when paratenic transmission can occur. However, paratenic transmission could play an important role in maintaining the parasite when direct transmission is reduced by interventions focused on reducing copepod ingestion by dogs. Together, these suggest that the most effective intervention strategies may be those which focus on the reduction of copepods, as this reduces outbreak potential irrespective of the importance of the paratenic route.
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19
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Food chain, parasites and climate changes in the high Arctic: a case study on trophically transmitted parasites of common eider Somateria mollissima at Franz Josef Land. Polar Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-021-02881-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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20
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Benesh DP, Parker GA, Chubb JC, Lafferty KD. Trade-Offs with Growth Limit Host Range in Complex Life-Cycle Helminths. Am Nat 2020; 197:E40-E54. [PMID: 33523790 DOI: 10.1086/712249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractParasitic worms with complex life cycles have several developmental stages, with each stage creating opportunities to infect additional host species. Using a data set for 973 species of trophically transmitted acanthocephalans, cestodes, and nematodes, we confirmed that worms with longer life cycles (i.e., more successive hosts) infect a greater diversity of host species and taxa (after controlling for study effort). Generalism at the stage level was highest for middle life stages, the second and third intermediate hosts of long life cycles. By simulating life cycles in real food webs, we found that middle stages had more potential host species to infect, suggesting that opportunity constrains generalism. However, parasites usually infected fewer host species than expected from simulated cycles, suggesting that generalism has costs. There was no trade-off in generalism from one stage to the next, but worms spent less time growing and developing in stages where they infected more taxonomically diverse hosts. Our results demonstrate that life-cycle complexity favors high generalism and that host use across life stages is determined by both ecological opportunity and life-history trade-offs.
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21
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The Mediterranean Mussel ( Mytilus galloprovincialis) as Intermediate Host for the Anisakid Sulcascaris sulcata (Nematoda), a Pathogen Parasite of the Mediterranean Loggerhead Turtle ( Caretta caretta). Pathogens 2020; 9:pathogens9020118. [PMID: 32069882 PMCID: PMC7168203 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9020118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Sulcascaris sulcata (Anisakidae), a pathogenic nematode of sea turtles, may cause ulcerous gastritis with different degrees of severity. Previous studies demonstrated a high prevalence of infection in the Mediterranean loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), although no data on the potential intermediate hosts of this nematode has been published thus far from the Mediterranean basin. Here, using molecular analyses, we demonstrated that the cross sections of nematode larvae observed histologically in Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) collected from a farm along the Tyrrhenian coast of southern Italy belong to S. sulcata. The BLAST analysis of sequences at the ITS2 region of rDNA and mtDNA cox2 gene loci here obtained from samples of two Mediterranean mussels containing nematode larvae showed 100% homology with those at the same gene loci from the adults of S. sulcata collected from the Mediterranean Sea and deposited in GenBank. To our knowledge, this study is the first to present data on a potential intermediate host of S. sulcata in the Mediterranean basin and to report a nematode parasite from the Mediterranean mussel.
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22
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Mechanisms and Drivers for the Establishment of Life Cycle Complexity in Myxozoan Parasites. BIOLOGY 2020; 9:biology9010010. [PMID: 31906274 PMCID: PMC7168919 DOI: 10.3390/biology9010010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Revised: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
It is assumed that complex life cycles in cnidarian parasites belonging to the Myxozoa result from incorporation of vertebrates into simple life cycles exploiting aquatic invertebrates. However, nothing is known about the driving forces and implementation of this event, though it fostered massive diversification. We performed a comprehensive search for myxozoans in evolutionary ancient fishes (Chondrichthyes), and more than doubled existing 18S rDNA sequence data, discovering seven independent phylogenetic lineages. We performed cophylogenetic and character mapping methods in the largest monophyletic dataset and demonstrate that host and parasite phylogenies are strongly correlated, and that tectonic changes may explain phylogeographic clustering in recent skates and softnose skates, in the Atlantic. The most basal lineages of myxozoans inhabit the bile of chondrichthyans, an immunologically privileged site and protective niche, easily accessible from the gut via the bile duct. We hypothesize that feed-integration is a likely mechanism of host acquisition, an idea supported by feeding habits of chimaeras and ancient sharks and by multiple entries of different parasite lineages from invertebrates into the new host group. We provide exciting first insights into the early evolutionary history of ancient metazoan parasites in a host group that embodies more evolutionary distinctiveness than most other vertebrates.
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23
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Chubb JC, Benesh D, Parker GA. Ungulate Helminth Transmission and Two Evolutionary Puzzles. Trends Parasitol 2020; 36:64-79. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2019.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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24
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Abstract
In diverse parasite taxa, from scale insects to root-knot nematodes, asexual lineages have exceptionally large host ranges, larger than those of their sexual relatives. Phylogenetic comparative studies of parasite taxa indicate that increases in host range and geographic range increase the probability of establishment of asexual lineages. At first pass, this convergence of traits appears counter-intuitive: intimate, antagonistic association with an enormous range of host taxa correlates with asexual reproduction, which should limit genetic variation within populations. Why would narrow host ranges favor sexual parasites and large host ranges favor asexual parasites? To take on this problem I link theory on ecological specialization to the two predominant hypotheses for the evolution of sex. I argue that both hypotheses predict a positive association between host range and the probability of invasion of asexual parasites, mediated either by variation in population size or in the strength of antagonistic coevolution. I also review hypotheses on colonization and the evolution of niche breadth in asexual lineages. I emphasize parasite taxa, with their diversity of reproductive modes and ecological strategies, as valuable assets in the hunt for solutions to the classic problems of the evolution of sex and geographic parthenogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda K Gibson
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
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25
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Dornburg A, Lamb AD, Warren D, Watkins-Colwell GJ, Lewbart GA, Flowers J. Are Geckos Paratenic Hosts for Caribbean Island Acanthocephalans? Evidence from Gonatodes antillensis and a Global Review of Squamate Reptiles Acting as Transport Hosts. BULLETIN OF THE PEABODY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 2019. [DOI: 10.3374/014.060.0103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - April D. Lamb
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA
| | - Dan Warren
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Institute, Frankfurt am Main 60325 Germany
| | - Gregory J. Watkins-Colwell
- Division of Vertebrate Zoology, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
| | - Gregory A. Lewbart
- College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607 USA
| | - James Flowers
- College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607 USA
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26
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Kasl EL, Font WF, Criscione CD. Resolving evolutionary changes in parasite life cycle complexity: Molecular phylogeny of the trematode genus Alloglossidium indicates more than one origin of precociousness. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2018; 126:371-381. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Revised: 03/17/2018] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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27
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Antonovics J, Wilson AJ, Forbes MR, Hauffe HC, Kallio ER, Leggett HC, Longdon B, Okamura B, Sait SM, Webster JP. The evolution of transmission mode. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 372:rstb.2016.0083. [PMID: 28289251 PMCID: PMC5352810 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
This article reviews research on the evolutionary mechanisms leading to different transmission modes. Such modes are often under genetic control of the host or the pathogen, and often in conflict with each other via trade-offs. Transmission modes may vary among pathogen strains and among host populations. Evolutionary changes in transmission mode have been inferred through experimental and phylogenetic studies, including changes in transmission associated with host shifts and with evolution of the unusually complex life cycles of many parasites. Understanding the forces that determine the evolution of particular transmission modes presents a fascinating medley of problems for which there is a lack of good data and often a lack of conceptual understanding or appropriate methodologies. Our best information comes from studies that have been focused on the vertical versus horizontal transmission dichotomy. With other kinds of transitions, theoretical approaches combining epidemiology and population genetics are providing guidelines for determining when and how rapidly new transmission modes may evolve, but these are still in need of empirical investigation and application to particular cases. Obtaining such knowledge is a matter of urgency in relation to extant disease threats.This article is part of the themed issue 'Opening the black box: re-examining the ecology and evolution of parasite transmission'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janis Antonovics
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - Anthony J Wilson
- Integrative Entomology group, Vector-borne Viral Diseases programme, The Pirbright Institute, Pirbright GU24 0NF, UK
| | - Mark R Forbes
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B7
| | - Heidi C Hauffe
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige, Trentino, Italy
| | - Eva R Kallio
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyvaskyla, PO Box 35, 40014 Jyvaskyla, Finland.,Department of Ecology, University of Oulu, PO Box 3000, 90014 Oulu, Finland
| | - Helen C Leggett
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Ben Longdon
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Beth Okamura
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW5 7BD, UK
| | - Steven M Sait
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Joanne P Webster
- Department of Pathology and Pathogen Biology, Centre for Emerging, Endemic and Exotic Diseases, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London AL9 7TA, UK
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28
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Patterns and processes influencing helminth parasites of Arctic coastal communities during climate change. J Helminthol 2017; 91:387-408. [DOI: 10.1017/s0022149x17000232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThis review analyses the scarce available data on biodiversity and transmission of helminths in Arctic coastal ecosystems and the potential impact of climate changes on them. The focus is on the helminths of seabirds, dominant parasites in coastal ecosystems. Their fauna in the Arctic is depauperate because of the lack of suitable intermediate hosts and unfavourable conditions for species with free-living larvae. An increasing proportion of crustaceans in the diet of Arctic seabirds would result in a higher infection intensity of cestodes and acanthocephalans, and may also promote the infection of seabirds with non-specific helminths. In this way, the latter may find favourable conditions for colonization of new hosts. Climate changes may alter the composition of the helminth fauna, their infection levels in hosts and ways of transmission in coastal communities. Immigration of boreal invertebrates and fish into Arctic seas may allow the circulation of helminths using them as intermediate hosts. Changing migratory routes of animals would alter the distribution of their parasites, facilitating, in particular, their trans-Arctic transfer. Prolongation of the seasonal ‘transmission window’ may increase the parasitic load on host populations. Changes in Arctic marine food webs would have an overriding influence on the helminths’ circulation. This process may be influenced by the predicted decreased of salinity in Arctic seas, increased storm activity, coastal erosion, ocean acidification, decline of Arctic ice, etc. Greater parasitological research efforts are needed to assess the influence of factors related to Arctic climate change on the transmission of helminths.
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Abstract
AbstractMany helminth taxa have complex life cycles, involving different life stages infecting different host species in a particular order to complete a single generation. Although the broad outlines of these cycles are known for any higher taxon, the details (morphology and biology of juvenile stages, specific identity of intermediate hosts) are generally unknown for particular species. In this review, we first provide quantitative evidence that although new helminth species are described annually at an increasing rate, the parallel effort to elucidate life cycles has become disproportionately smaller over time. We then review the use of morphological matching, experimental infections and genetic matching as approaches to elucidate helminth life cycles. Next we discuss the various research areas or disciplines that could benefit from a solid knowledge of particular life cycles, including integrative taxonomy, the study of parasite evolution, food-web ecology, and the management and control of parasitic diseases. Finally, we end by proposing changes to the requirements for new species descriptions and further large-scale attempts to genetically match adult and juvenile helminth stages in regional faunas, as part of a plea to parasitologists to bring parasite life-cycle studies back into mainstream research.
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30
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Weber JN, Kalbe M, Shim KC, Erin NI, Steinel NC, Ma L, Bolnick DI. Resist Globally, Infect Locally: A Transcontinental Test of Adaptation by Stickleback and Their Tapeworm Parasite. Am Nat 2017; 189:43-57. [DOI: 10.1086/689597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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31
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Médoc V, Firmat C, Sheath D, Pegg J, Andreou D, Britton J. Parasites and Biological Invasions. ADV ECOL RES 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aecr.2016.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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32
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Abstract
SUMMARYComplex life cycles are common in free-living and parasitic organisms alike. The adaptive decoupling hypothesis postulates that separate life cycle stages have a degree of developmental and genetic autonomy, allowing them to be independently optimized for dissimilar, competing tasks. That is, complex life cycles evolved to facilitate functional specialization. Here, I review the connections between the different stages in parasite life cycles. I first examine evolutionary connections between life stages, such as the genetic coupling of parasite performance in consecutive hosts, the interspecific correlations between traits expressed in different hosts, and the developmental and functional obstacles to stage loss. Then, I evaluate how environmental factors link life stages through carryover effects, where stressful larval conditions impact parasites even after transmission to a new host. There is evidence for both autonomy and integration across stages, so the relevant question becomes how integrated are parasite life cycles and through what mechanisms? By highlighting how genetics, development, selection and the environment can lead to interdependencies among successive life stages, I wish to promote a holistic approach to studying complex life cycle parasites and emphasize that what happens in one stage is potentially highly relevant for later stages.
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Diversity of helminth parasites in aquatic invertebrate hosts in Latin America: how much do we know? J Helminthol 2016; 91:137-149. [PMID: 27501931 DOI: 10.1017/s0022149x16000547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Helminths in aquatic invertebrate hosts have been overlooked in comparison with vertebrate hosts. Therefore, the known diversity, ecology and distribution of these host-parasite systems are very limited in terms of their taxonomic diversity, habitat and geographic regions. In this study we examined the published literature on helminth parasites of aquatic invertebrates from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to identify the state of the knowledge in the region and to identify patterns of helminth diversity. Results showed that 67% of the literature is from Argentina, Mexico and Brazil. We found records for 772 host-parasite associations. Most records relate to medically or economically important hosts. Molluscs were the most studied host group with 377 helminth records (80% trematodes). The lymnaeids and planorbids were the most studied molluscs across LAC. Arthropods were the second most studied host group with 78 helminth records (trematodes 38%, cestodes 24% and nematodes 20%), with shrimps and crabs being the most studied hosts. Host species with the largest number of helminth taxa were those with a larger sampling effort through time, usually in a small country region. No large geographical-scale studies were identified. In general, the knowledge is still too scarce to allow any zoogeographical or helminth diversity generalization, as most hosts have been studied locally and the studies on invertebrate hosts in LAC are substantially uneven among countries.
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Britton JR, Andreou D. Parasitism as a Driver of Trophic Niche Specialisation. Trends Parasitol 2016; 32:437-445. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2016.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2015] [Revised: 02/08/2016] [Accepted: 02/12/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Sielaff M, Schmidt H, Struck TH, Rosenkranz D, Mark Welch DB, Hankeln T, Herlyn H. Phylogeny of Syndermata (syn. Rotifera): Mitochondrial gene order verifies epizoic Seisonidea as sister to endoparasitic Acanthocephala within monophyletic Hemirotifera. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2015; 96:79-92. [PMID: 26702959 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2015.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2015] [Revised: 11/19/2015] [Accepted: 11/24/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
A monophyletic origin of endoparasitic thorny-headed worms (Acanthocephala) and wheel-animals (Rotifera) is widely accepted. However, the phylogeny inside the clade, be it called Syndermata or Rotifera, has lacked validation by mitochondrial (mt) data. Herein, we present the first mt genome of the key taxon Seison and report conflicting results of phylogenetic analyses: while mt sequence-based topologies showed monophyletic Lemniscea (Bdelloidea+Acanthocephala), gene order analyses supported monophyly of Pararotatoria (Seisonidea+Acanthocephala) and Hemirotifera (Bdelloidea+Pararotatoria). Sequence-based analyses obviously suffered from substitution saturation, compositional bias, and branch length heterogeneity; however, we observed no compromising effects in gene order analyses. Moreover, gene order-based topologies were robust to changes in coding (genes vs. gene pairs, two-state vs. multistate, aligned vs. non-aligned), tree reconstruction methods, and the treatment of the two monogonont mt genomes. Thus, mt gene order verifies seisonids as sister to acanthocephalans within monophyletic Hemirotifera, while deviating results of sequence-based analyses reflect artificial signal. This conclusion implies that the complex life cycle of extant acanthocephalans evolved from a free-living state, as retained by most monogononts and bdelloids, via an epizoic state with a simple life cycle, as shown by seisonids. Hence, Acanthocephala represent a rare example where ancestral transitional stages have counterparts amongst the closest relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malte Sielaff
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, J.J. Becher-Weg 30a, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Hanno Schmidt
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, J.J. Becher-Weg 30a, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Torsten H Struck
- National Centre for Biosystematics, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172, Blindern, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway
| | - David Rosenkranz
- Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - David B Mark Welch
- Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | - Thomas Hankeln
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, J.J. Becher-Weg 30a, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Holger Herlyn
- Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
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Koskella B. Research highlights for issue 10: understanding complex lifecycles. Evol Appl 2015; 8:917-8. [PMID: 26640517 PMCID: PMC4662348 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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Leung TLF. Fossils of parasites: what can the fossil record tell us about the evolution of parasitism? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2015; 92:410-430. [PMID: 26538112 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2015] [Revised: 10/09/2015] [Accepted: 10/12/2015] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Parasites are common in many ecosystems, yet because of their nature, they do not fossilise readily and are very rare in the geological record. This makes it challenging to study the evolutionary transition that led to the evolution of parasitism in different taxa. Most studies on the evolution of parasites are based on phylogenies of extant species that were constructed based on morphological and molecular data, but they give us an incomplete picture and offer little information on many important details of parasite-host interactions. The lack of fossil parasites also means we know very little about the roles that parasites played in ecosystems of the past even though it is known that parasites have significant influences on many ecosystems. The goal of this review is to bring attention to known fossils of parasites and parasitism, and provide a conceptual framework for how research on fossil parasites can develop in the future. Despite their rarity, there are some fossil parasites which have been described from different geological eras. These fossils include the free-living stage of parasites, parasites which became fossilised with their hosts, parasite eggs and propagules in coprolites, and traces of pathology inflicted by parasites on the host's body. Judging from the fossil record, while there were some parasite-host relationships which no longer exist in the present day, many parasite taxa which are known from the fossil record seem to have remained relatively unchanged in their general morphology and their patterns of host association over tens or even hundreds of millions of years. It also appears that major evolutionary and ecological transitions throughout the history of life on Earth coincided with the appearance of certain parasite taxa, as the appearance of new host groups also provided new niches for potential parasites. As such, fossil parasites can provide additional data regarding the ecology of their extinct hosts, since many parasites have specific life cycles and transmission modes which reflect certain aspects of the host's ecology. The study of fossil parasites can be conducted using existing techniques in palaeontology and palaeoecology, and microscopic examination of potential material such as coprolites may uncover more fossil evidence of parasitism. However, I also urge caution when interpreting fossils as examples of parasites or parasitism-induced traces. I point out a number of cases where parasitism has been spuriously attributed to some fossil specimens which, upon re-examination, display traits which are just as (if not more) likely to be found in free-living taxa. The study of parasite fossils can provide a more complete picture of the ecosystems and evolution of life throughout Earth's history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommy L F Leung
- Department of Zoology Centre for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia
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Parker GA, Ball MA, Chubb JC. Evolution of complex life cycles in trophically transmitted helminths. II. How do life-history stages adapt to their hosts? J Evol Biol 2015; 28:292-304. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2014] [Accepted: 12/15/2014] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- G. A. Parker
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour; Institute of Integrative Biology; University of Liverpool; Liverpool UK
| | - M. A. Ball
- Mathematical Sciences; University of Liverpool; Liverpool UK
| | - J. C. Chubb
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour; Institute of Integrative Biology; University of Liverpool; Liverpool UK
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De Baets K, Littlewood DTJ. The Importance of Fossils in Understanding the Evolution of Parasites and Their Vectors. ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY 2015; 90:1-51. [PMID: 26597064 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2015.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Knowledge concerning the diversity of parasitism and its reach across our current understanding of the tree of life has benefitted considerably from novel molecular phylogenetic methods. However, the timing of events and the resolution of the nature of the intimate relationships between parasites and their hosts in deep time remain problematic. Despite its vagaries, the fossil record provides the only direct evidence of parasites and parasitism in the fossil record of extant and extinct lineages. Here, we demonstrate the potential of the fossil record and other lines of geological evidence to calibrate the origin and evolution of parasitism by combining different kinds of dating evidence with novel molecular clock methodologies. Other novel methods promise to provide additional evidence for the presence or the life habit of pathogens and their vectors, including the discovery and analysis of ancient DNA and other biomolecules, as well as computed tomographic methods.
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Benesh DP, Chubb JC, Parker GA. The trophic vacuum and the evolution of complex life cycles in trophically transmitted helminths. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:rspb.2014.1462. [PMID: 25209937 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasitic worms (helminths) frequently have complex life cycles in which they are transmitted trophically between two or more successive hosts. Sexual reproduction often takes place in high trophic-level (TL) vertebrates, where parasites can grow to large sizes with high fecundity. Direct infection of high TL hosts, while advantageous, may be unachievable for parasites constrained to transmit trophically, because helminth propagules are unlikely to be ingested by large predators. Lack of niche overlap between propagule and definitive host (the trophic transmission vacuum) may explain the origin and/or maintenance of intermediate hosts, which overcome this transmission barrier. We show that nematodes infecting high TL definitive hosts tend to have more successive hosts in their life cycles. This relationship was modest, though, driven mainly by the minimum TL of hosts, suggesting that the shortest trophic chains leading to a host define the boundaries of the transmission vacuum. We also show that alternative modes of transmission, like host penetration, allow nematodes to reach high TLs without intermediate hosts. We suggest that widespread omnivory as well as parasite adaptations to increase transmission probably reduce, but do not eliminate, the barriers to the transmission of helminths through the food web.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P Benesh
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-6150, USA Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, August-Thienemann-Strasse 2, 24306 Plön, Germany
| | - James C Chubb
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Geoff A Parker
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
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